Immigration Laws

1882 Immigration Act First major federal immigration law. Barred from entry any convict, lunatic, idiot, or person unable to take care of himself or herself without becoming a public charge. Source: ODonnell, Ed. Guarding the Gate: Ellis Island and Immigration Policy. PowerPoint presentation. Westwood High School, Westwood, MA

Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) Excluded Chinese skilled and unskilled laborers employed in mining from entering the country for ten years under penalty of imprisonment and deportation. The few Chinese non-laborers who wished to immigrate had to obtain certification from the Chinese government that they were qualified to immigrate, which tended to be difficult to prove. The Act also affected Asians who had already settled in the United States. Any Chinese who left the United States had to obtain certifications for reentry, and the Act made Chinese immigrants permanent aliens by excluding them from U.S. citizenship. After the Act's passage, Chinese men in the U.S. had little chance of ever reuniting with their wives, or of starting families in their new homes. Source: ODonnell, Ed. Guarding the Gate: Ellis Island and Immigration Policy. PowerPoint presentation. Westwood High School, Westwood, MA

1891 Immigration Act Created federal Immigration Bureau and expanded list of exclusions: –idiots, insane persons, paupers or persons likely to become public charges, persons suffering from a loathsome or a dangerous disease, persons who have been convicted of a felony or other infamous crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude, polygamists... Steamship companies responsible for shipping excluded immigrants back. Source: ODonnell, Ed. Guarding the Gate: Ellis Island and Immigration Policy. PowerPoint presentation. Westwood High School, Westwood, MA

1903 Immigration Act Adds anarchists, epileptics, andprofessional beggars to list of exclusionary categories. Also substitutes the word alien for immigrant. Source: ODonnell, Ed. Guarding the Gate: Ellis Island and Immigration Policy. PowerPoint presentation. Westwood High School, Westwood, MA

1907 Immigration Act Bars All idiots, imbeciles, feeble- minded persons, epileptics, insane persons, and persons who have been insane within five years previous; persons who have had two or more attacks of insanity at any time previously; paupers; persons likely to become a public charge; professional beggars; persons afflicted with tuberculosis or with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease; persons not comprehended within any of the foregoing excluded classes, who are found to be and are certified by the examining surgeon as being mentally or physically defective, such mental or physical defect being of a nature which may affect the ability of such alien to earn a living; persons who have been convicted of or admit having committed a felony or other crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; polygamists, or persons who admit their belief in the practice of polygamy; anarchists, or persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the government of the United States, or of all government, or of all forms of law, or the assassination of public officials; prostitutes, or women or girls coming into the United States for the purpose of prostitution, or for any other immoral purpose Source:

1917 Immigration Act – Literacy test for all immigrants over sixteen. – "all idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded persons, epileptics, insane persons; persons who have had one or more attacks of insanity at any time previously; persons of constitutional psychopathic inferiority; persons with chronic alcoholism; paupers; professional beggars; vagrants; persons afflicted with tuberculosis in any form or with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease; persons not comprehended within any of the foregoing excluded classes who are found to be and are certified by the examining surgeon as being mentally or physically defective, such physical defect being of a nature which may affect the ability of such alien to earn a living; persons who have been convicted of or admit having committed a felony or other crime or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; polygamists, or persons who practice polygamy or believe in or advocate the practice of polygamy; anarchists, or persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the Government of the United States. Source:

1921 Quota Act An annual immigration ceiling is set at 350,000. Moreover, a new nationality quota is instituted, limiting admissions to 3 percent of each nationality group's representation in the 1910 U.S. Census. The law is designed primarily to restrict the flow of immigrants coming from eastern and southern Europe. Source:

1924 National Origins Act The Act reduces the annual immigration ceiling to 165,000. A revised quota reduces admissions to 2 percent of each nationality group's representation in the 1890 census. The U.S. Border Patrol is created. Source:

1927 Immigration Ceiling Further Reduced The annual immigration ceiling is further reduced to 150,000; the quota is revised to 2 percent of each nationality's representation in the 1920 census. This basic law remains in effect through National Origins Act. –The annual immigration ceiling of 150,000 is made permanent, with 70 percent of admissions slated for those coming from northern and Western Europe, while the other 30 percent are reserved for those coming from Southern and Eastern Europe. Source:

1948 Displaced Persons Act Entry is allowed for 400,000 persons displaced by World War II. However, such refugees must pass a security check and have proof of employment and housing that does not threaten U.S. citizens' jobs and homes. Source:

1952 McCarran-Walter Act The Act consolidates earlier immigration laws and removes race as a basis for exclusion. In addition, the Act introduces an ideological criterion for admission: immigrants and visitors to the United States can now be denied entry on the basis of their political ideology (e.g., if they are Communists or former Nazis). Source:

1965 Immigration Act is amended Nationality quotas are abolished. However, the Act establishes an overall ceiling of 170,000 on immigration from the Eastern Hemisphere and another ceiling of 120,000 on immigration from the Western Hemisphere. Source:

1978 World-wide immigration ceiling introduced A new annual immigration ceiling of 290,000 replaces the separate ceilings for the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Source:

1980 Refugee Act A system is developed to handle refugees as a class separate from other immigrants. Under the new law, refugees are defined as those who flee a country because of persecution "on account of race, religion, nationality, or political opinion." The president, in consultation with Congress, is authorized to establish an annual ceiling on the number of refugees who may enter the United States. The president also is allowed to admit any group of refugees in an emergency. At the same time, the annual ceiling on traditional immigration is lowered to 270,000. Source:

1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act The annual immigration ceiling is raised to 540,000. Amnesty is offered to those illegal aliens able to prove continuous residence in the United States since January 1 Source:

1990 Immigration Act The annual immigration ceiling is further raised to 700,000 for 1992, 1993,and 1994; thereafter, the ceiling will drop to 675,000 a year. Ten thousand permanent resident visas are offered to those immigrants agreeing to invest at least $1 million in U.S. urban areas or $500,000 in U.S. rural areas. The McCarran-Walter Act of 1952 is amended so that people can no longer be denied admittance to the United States on the basis of their beliefs, statements, or associations. Source: